By the waters edge
by LeahTheAuror
Summary: The 70th Hunger Games from Annie's POV. Please Review.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

When they called his name, I'd be lying if I said I didn't mind. I watched as he walked to the stage, his golden hair falling in waves just above his shoulders, his beautiful tanned skin seemed to reflect the sun. He strode up the steps, seeming not to even care that, in a few short weeks, he could potentially be dead.

During his interview, he was so confident. I could see every young girl in the Capitol swoon over him, and for some reason, this got to me. I have no idea why, but seeing all these girls fall to their knees over him, almost made me jealous. I'd never even spoken to him. Every now and again, I'd make eye contact with him and he always held my gaze for a little too long. Every night from then on I had nightmares of watching him be brutally murdered by another tribute. While he was in the arena, he was showered with gifts from sponsored. There was no doubt he would win. As I watched as he was crowned the victor, something stirred in me.

We all gathered in the square to watch as he returned home. He looked so beautiful. But something seemed wrong to me. Later that evening, I took a walk along the beach. My dark curls danced around my face. Then I saw him, sitting alone at the water's edge. I wasn't sure what to do. Should I leave him be? Should I talk to him? Before I could make up my mind, my feet stared moving towards him. I sat down on the sand next to him. "Hi I'm Annie Cresta". He turned his head and gave me a warm smile. "Hi I'm Finnick Odair".


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

We sat and talked for hours. We talked about fishing, our families and our plans for the future. It wasn't till much later that he mentioned the games. He asked me if I looked at him differently now that I had seen him kill. I wasn't sure what to say. How do you answer a question like that? We sat in silence for a while, until I told him "everyone is going to look at you differently from now on, you are a victor". A look of confusion crossed his face "What's that supposed to mean?. "All I mean is that you are not just Finnick Odair from district 4, you are Finnick Odair victor of the 65th Hunger Games". He smiled at me "You're a strange one aren't you". I wasn't sure if he meant that as an insult or as a compliment. Then, he lifted up his hand, and ran he fingers through my hair. Then he did something I was not expecting. He leaned in and kissed me very softly on the lips. He moved closer to me and wrapped his arm around my waist.

We sat in silence until the sun had completely set. I knew I should be home by now, mother will start to worry. But regardless of this I stayed seated on the sand. Then he began to tell me about his time in the arena, and how the worst thing was how lonely he felt. He told me about how terrifying it was to know that everyone in the arena wanted him dead. I sat and listened and offered comfort where I could.

When I told him I had to go, his face dropped, but almost immediately, he looked up with a huge smile on his face. Then he touched my cheek "See you later, Annie Cresta". Then he got up and waded in to the water. I watched until the water reached his waist, then he dived under the water. That night I slept like a baby, nothing could disturb my dreams tonight!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The next day at school, we didn't even talk to one another. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to talk to him. During class he caught my eye, but I quickly looked away. Later at lunch, I saw him in a big group of girls. They were hanging on his every word. He looked over at me and smiled, I smiled back. One of the other girls in my year, Savera Edenthaw, gave me a dirty look "what do you think you're smiling at Cresta?" .I could feel my face turning red. She came over to me and whispered in my ear "Listen here Cresta, he's mine! I can make your life a living hell. So before you get any idea's, let me tell you, he's not interested in you!". Tears began to well up in my eyes. I ran in to the school toilets and stayed in there until lunch was over.

Later that night, I decided to take a walk along the shore to take my mind off things. The waves splashed playfully around my ankles and the wind whipped my hair around my face. There he was, sitting in the exact same place as last night. I was just about to turn around and go home when he called out to me "Hey Annie". Drat! I turned around slowly and walked towards him. He stood up to greet me and before I could stop myself, I broke into a run. Just before I reached him, I tripped on a piece of drift wood. He caught me just before I hit the ground. "You ok?" he asked. I tried to answer him but I couldn't. That's when I broke down. Tears streamed down my face and I collapsed on the ground. He sat me on his lap and stroked my head. He whispered comforting words in to my ear until I calmed down. Then we sat, me sitting on his lap with my head resting on his shoulder, watching the sun go down.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Every evening for the next 5 years, we would meet at the beach. We never arranged to meet, but we always knew the other would be waiting there. Sometimes we would go swimming or fishing, sometimes we would sit and talk about life and sometimes we would just sit in silence while he stroked my hair.

The night before the reapping of the 70th Hunger Games, we sat on the beach as usual, but something was different. I wasn't sure what it was but there was defiantly something strange. Tonight was one of our nights when we sat in silence. "Annie?" he said. "Yes?" There was a hint of urgency in his voice. "No matter what happens tomorrow….." I silenced him with a kiss. "Let's not worry about what tomorrow will bring, let's just enjoy the time we have together". He nodded his head. Then he produced a beautiful yellow flower from his pocket. He fixed it in my hair and smiled. I should be worried, my name was in 20 times, but I was just too happy to worry about that.

We lay on the sand, wrapped in each other's arms until the sun began to rise. I gave him one last kiss and then I leave. When I got home, I had a shower and got dressed. I fixed the flower Finnick gave me back in my hair and headed out the door.

I remember everything, the smell of the salty air, the light breeze that caught my hair as I walked up the steps to the stage. I remember seeing the look on Finnicks face. I could see he was trying to hold in the tears. When Bise Selkirk's name was called, I couldn't believe it, we had been close friends since I was little, and now, within a few weeks at least one of us would be dead.

Finnick came to see me in the Justice Building, His eyes were filled with tears, and within seconds they were pouring down his face. "An-n-ie, I'm so sor-ry" he spluttered. I embraced him and began to cry. We held on to each other until the peace keepers pulled us apart. "You can win this Annie. I'll be waiting for you when you get back. I lov..." The peace keepers dragged him out of the room before he could finish.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

I spend the night on the train crying. I couldn't believe that I would never see Finnick again. He would never run his fingers through my hair or stroke my head. There was no way I could win. I was small and weak. My only talent was swimming and fishing, and unless the arena was under water I didn't stand a chance.

For the tribute parade, we were dressed in fishing nets, typical. The days that followed passed in a blur. For my post-game interview I wore a long aqua dress trimmed with gold. My prep team wanted to do something with my hair, but I wouldn't let them. In the end they let me let my hair down and fixed the flower Finnick gave me back in my hair. The prep exchanged glances, but they knew nothing they could say would make me take the flower off.

During my interview, Caesar, who this year was dressed from head to toe in fuchsia pink, asked me about Finnick "What about him? I've never spoken to him, seems a bit stuck up" I muttered. I didn't want them to use him against me. He would understand that I was trying to protect him. Caesar quickly changed the subject and asked me about my plan for the arena. I told him I didn't have a plan, and I didn't. At the end of my interview, Caesar stood me up in front of the crowd "District 4's very own Annie Cresta" only a few people clapped. Good I wanted them to find me boring and uninteresting. I was better that way.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

I remember walking to the hover craft with Mags. Just before I boarded, I asked her to look after Finnick, to make sure he had a shoulder to cry on when I had passed on. She gestured for me to come down to her level, and then she murmured something to me, barely audible "He won't let you die!" I know she is right, there was no way Finnick would let me die without putting up a fight, but this was of little comfort to me, once I was in the arena there was nothing Finnick could do. Before I could reply, I was dragged on to the Hover Craft. Just before the doors closed, I screamed out "Tell him I love him". In that moment I didn't care if all the other tributes heard, if they thought I was just a silly little girl in love, all I cared about was Finnick!

The hover craft landed and we were brought to our launch rooms. My stylist, Grandis, was waiting for me. I hated him. I hated everyone in the Capitol. Because of them, I would never see Finnick again. He would never run his fingers through my hair, never swim with me and teach me to catch fish with a trident. "Sixty seconds" a loud voice called out. I got up from my seat and walked over to the launch tube. I stood there, and then I felt the ground beneath my feet begin to rise. This was it, by the end of today, I would most likely be dead, and if not today then defiantly tomorrow.

The light was so bright it took a couple of minutes for my eyes to adjust. The arena was a large field. Surrounding it was forest. It looked deep, plenty of hiding places. At one end there was a huge dam. The countdown began. I looked at the weapons laid out on the ground in front of the Cornucopia. Then I saw what I needed, A spear. I had been using a spear to catch fish since I could walk, but it was far away, at the mouth of the Cornucopia. The gong rang out. I still hadn't figured out what to do, so I just started to run towards the spear. It was my only chance of survival. I reached the Cornucopia before most of the other tributes. I grabbed the spear and was about to run into the forest, when I tripped over a backpack. This was it. I had been in the games for under a minute and I was about to die. A shadow loomed over me and I curled up in a ball. Then I felt someone through a blanket over my head. I dared not move. I lay there, in a ball for hours. I thought of Finnick, and how he must feel.

After a while the fighting stopped. I could hear people talking. A gruff voice said "She's useless, all she'll be is a hazard". Then I heard Bise Selkirk's voice, "Well I can't just leave her here, I promised him I'd do my best to keep her alive". After a lot of mumbling, someone lifted the blanket off me "Come on Annie, we have to go".

Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Over the next few days, we made our way deep in to the forest. There were plenty of edible plants and the animals were easy to catch. We set up camp next to a small river. My alliance consisted of Bise, Silk from district 1 and Grunt from district 2. I could tell that Silk and Grunt didn't want me there, most of the time they just ignored me and sat with each other chatting or sharpening their swords. On the fifth day, we decided to move on. Ten were killed in the blood bath and since then four more had died. Silk's partner died at the blood bath when he foolishly decided to try and attack the strongest tribute, Vearu, who killed him in an instant. Grunts partner was still out there but from what he has told us about her, she is weak and would probably be dead within a couple of days.

We walked for what seemed like hours, tripping over branches and trying to make as little noise as possible. After a while we decided to stop for a break. Bise and I set out the food while Silk and Grunt when to gather fire wood. Suddenly, we heard the cannon boom. We saw the lights of the hover craft glowing in the twilight. I began to run in the direction of the hover craft. I got there just in time to see Grunts body being lifted up. In an instant, the hover craft was gone. I looked around to see if I could find Silk. Then I heard a soft whimpering coming from behind a large tree. I walked cautiously towards the tree and peeked behind it. And there she was, curled up in a ball hugging her knees. I knelt down beside her and stroked her hair. After a while I lead her back to our camp. Silk was in a state of utter shock and no matter how hard we tried she wouldn't tell us what happened, she just repeated "Mutts" over and over again. We decided not to question her any more tonight. I tucked her in to her sleeping bag and lay down beside her. Just before I feel asleep, she whispered in my ear "Thank you".

The next morning, we decided it would be safest to move away from here. We weren't sure if Silk was up for a long walk but she insisted she was fine. I suggested that we walk in the direction of the Cornucopia. We walked for a good 5 hours straight without a break. We were so low on food that we decided not to eat until it was absolutely necessary. Vey soon we were in the forest that bordered the Cornucopia. We set up camp and when we set out the food, my stomach dropped. There was barely enough food here for one person let alone three. Over the past few days, food had become scarce. The animals had learned to avoid the traps we set and strange possibly poisonous plants were shooting up everywhere. I shared it out between us and we tried to savour what little food we had.


End file.
